Matt Henderson

A goal that Matt Henderson works towards every day is to help his clients with blindness and low vision reach successful employment outcomes and to be as independent as possible. His drive to achieve his goals of helping others led him to the Vision Specialist Certification in Vocational Rehabilitation Online program at Mississippi State.

“I enrolled in the Vision Specialist in Vocational Rehabilitation program in order to gain more knowledge and expertise so I could be of better assistance to my blind and low vision clients,” Henderson said.

The Lafayette, Georgia native is a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor at Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency. Although the program was challenging, Henderson gained invaluable skills to use throughout his career.

“The most memorable part for me with the Vision Specialist program was the 3-week residency component in Starkville. To get to be in the actual college environment and be able to go on campus was awesome! I felt like a Bulldog,” Henderson said.

Henderson credits the on-campus element to be a critical factor in the program because he was able to have hands-on, real-life experience. He plans to utilize the knowledge and invaluable skills he gained to be the help that his clients need.

The purpose of the program is to provide vocational rehabilitation (VR) counselors, vision rehabilitation therapists, associated professionals, and graduate students enrolled in VR programs with the expertise to address issues and techniques specific to visual impairment.

The program is sponsored by the National Research and Training Center (NRTC) on Blindness and Low Vision and the Department of Counseling, Educational Psychology and Special Education (a CORE Accredited program) at Mississippi State University. The project is funded by a long-term training grant from the Rehabilitation Services Administration of the U. S. Department of Education (Grant #H129P140004).

For more information on the Vision Specialist in Vocational Rehabilitation Certificate online visit, online.msstate.edu/vision/

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